I did a quick.....admittedly, not very exhaustive.....search on this subject, and was surprised not to immediately see such reference in a subject line; which really surprised me.

Regardless, can somebody PLEASE explain to an OB newbie like me the reason for this gauge.....particularly at the expense of a temperature gauge.....considering every new OB is already equipped with the digital fuel economy indicator (which can be set for both instant and average fuel economy) ??

It'd be nice if there were some kind of conversion.....like an ECM reprogram/reflash.....that could switch that gauge reading (even without the proper panel graphics) to temperature. I mean, there's already an input.....presumably originating from the ECM.....to the gauge; why couldn't this be done ?? For the record, I myself have no interest in tacking-onto my IP one of those silly (my opinion only) aftermarket products which gives me a hundred other readouts I honestly don't care about.

Of course, somebody at the factory would have to figure it out how to do it, and I'm not sure they'd be willing to assign an Engineer to switch a feature which somebody in authority (probably in Marketing) clearly believes is a good idea. Then again, if this is nothing more than an 80's vintage vacuum gauge, then that idea goes out the window.

Why won't I be surprised if we learn this switch has been made in the 2013 model.....

Blasphemy, you don't think the eco gauge is useful? It's apparently more important to Subaru that you know when you are wasting natural resources than knowing when your engine is overheating.
Sarcasm aside, owning a Subaru requires a certain tolerance to quirkiness. The eco gauge is there to remind you Subaru is non-conformist and different.
I'm upgrading my eco gauge to this.

... considering every new OB is already equipped with the digital fuel economy
indicator (which can be set for both instant and average fuel economy) ...

Maybe you'd have more luck asking Mother Soobie to reprogram the center-dash
display with a temperature readout function -- in place of the useless instant mpg.
That way, you could keep an eye on temps with a resolution of, say, +/- 0.001 ...

Actually instantaneous MPG readout can be VERY useful. Before I got my first BMW I rode in a few belonging to friends of mine. Some of them trashed the gauge as useless because it swings back and forth so much.

But that's just the point. If you just watch it when you drive it gives you a wake up call as to when you're throwing money out the pipe. Every time gas prices go up we get the pep talk (like we've never heard it before) "check your air pressure, coast up to lights, no "jack rabbit starts", etc. Duh.

By paying attention to the analog gauge in the BMW I was regularly able to squeak 35mpg out of the car, fully loaded, on road trips. And I didn't drive slowly either. In fact whether driving 55 mph or 75 mph made NO difference in mileage on the BMW (can't say the same for the Subaru)

There are subtle things, like: if you had to slow down do you speed back up slowly or do you juice if for a second and then back off? The answer depends on the vehicle, and is not intuitive.

Does rolling up behind a semi truck and accelerating from about 75 yards while in it's shadow save you gas? Heck yes it does.

Heavy traffic is a killer. I will now sit at home until late in the evening rather than get in stop and go traffic where I get 6 mpg!!!

While the Subaru gauge has too much lag to be of much value, it really does offer insight on fuel usage which can be used to improve your average substantially.

Sarcasm aside, owning a Subaru requires a certain tolerance to quirkiness. The eco gauge is there to remind you Subaru is non-conformist and different.

Hadn't thought of it that way; apparently, 3 weeks as a Subie owner has been insufficient to get me out of everyone-else mode. Guess all that's left to do now is put the ignition between the seats, and we'd have pretty much all the industry's quirkiness factors (now that Saab is largely dead and buried) covered.

Maybe you'd have more luck asking Mother Soobie to reprogram the center-dash
display with a temperature readout function -- in place of the useless instant mpg.
That way, you could keep an eye on temps with a resolution of, say, +/- 0.001 ...

Hey nube, gotta' question for you that has nothing to do with Eco gauges; exactly where is Sackatomatoes ?? I myself am not familiar enough with Cali agriculture to know in what area of the State that would be......

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